Impact

Major broadcasting mediums caught wind of Rowdy's impact on lives, and he's been lucky to spread as much as he has. We weren't able to squeeze everything on this page, but here's some examples of his outreach and effect.

As seen on:

Rowdy's Impact on LIves:

" [He] was beaming at bedtime tonight talking all about Rowdy. And how my skin is boring because I don't get to have Vitiligo like him. This is the first time that he has spoken positively about his skin. Thank you [Rowdy] for giving him and our family such a wonderful gift!! "

A heartfelt message to Ellen from a mother:

" Dear Ellen,My son is 7 years old and we live in Searcy, AR. In August 2014, [he] started to develop Vitiligo, an autoimmune disease that causes patches of the skin to lose pigmentation. [He] has struggled significantly with his self-confidence. His Vitiligo has caused times of severe anxiety as well. [He] is frequently asked about "what's wrong" with his face. There have been so many days where I would pick [him] up from school and the first thing he would say is "Mom, I hate my face. I'm tired of people talking about my skin." As his mother, it broke my heart. His condition rapidly progressed and for a period of time, he would walk from room to room in our home looking in the mirror. Not long ago, I saw pictures and videos on Facebook of a black labrador named Rowdy who also has Vitiligo. Being dog lovers ourselves, I reached out to Rowdy's owner. It turns out that Rowdy also developed his Vitiligo in August of 2014! A video was made last week on Upworthy that went viral across Facebook with over a million views...and [my son's] picture was in it. When I showed [him] the video, he broke out in the BIGGEST smile. "Me and Rowdy are famous!" he said. For the first time in 2 years, [my son] was PROUD of himself and his Vitiligo. He even said, "Mom, your skin is boring because you don't have Vitiligo." Rowdy changed my son's childhood. He changed our home and our lives. Rowdy is now a senior dog at age 13 and lives in Oregon. PLEASE HELP [MY SON] MEET ROWDY! There is no greater gift that you could give this sweet little boy. We know in our hearts that Rowdy was put on this earth for [my son]. Instead of [him] hiding behind his skin, for the last week he has told everyone he knows that he is special because of his Vitiligo. He has struggled for 2 LONG years. Rowdy changed all of that for him. We are forever grateful. As his mother, I dream of the day that [he] can wrap his arms around Rowdy's neck. Please help our dreams come true.